‘Hostes Humani Generis’

By AMY L. WITTMAN, Editor in Chief

“ For over 2,000
years, the nations of the world
have considered pirates to be enemies of
the human race (
hostes humani generis).
Accordingly, every
nation has the legal
authority to establish
jurisdiction over piracy and punish the
offenders, regardless of the nationality of the perpetrator or victim.”

So begins the “Case for Action” in
the new U.S. plan to combat piracy.
Written in December and released in
January, the document, “Countering
Piracy off the Horn of Africa: Partnership and Action Plan,” specifically
targets the lucrative hijacking-for-ransom business of Somali pirates.

The 2005 National Strategy for
Maritime Security notes the global
economic importance of maritime
security, and the 2007 Policy for the
Repression of Piracy and other Criminal Acts of Violence at Sea recognizes that the response to maritime
security threats will vary according
to available resources, as well as
political, geographic and legal issues.
This new Action Plan narrows the
focus, tailoring the U.S. response to
the specific threats posed off the
Horn of Africa.

Seapower Special Correspondent
Daisy R. Khalifa, in her report “Piracy
Policy Collective” (page 20), explains that the Action Plan has very
distinct lines of action and corresponding ways to implement them.

Piracy off the Horn of Africa garnered international attention and
outrage in 2008 due to the brazenness of the attacks and the huge pay-

offs netted by the criminals. The world’s
navies responded by
stepping up their
presence in the region, acting both
individually and as
part of coalition operations. The Action
Plan acknowledges
that such a coordinated response is the

key to success, noting that a “
Contact Group of countries” must be
established immediately.

The plan notes that this group
“will coordinate with other similar
groups, international organizations,
and industry to strengthen our collective international ability to prevent, interdict, prosecute, and eventually eradicate piracy.”

The Contact Group was created
Jan. 14.

This is a strong foundation on
which to build a system that provides a persistent presence of
forces capable of interdiction and
disrupts, disarms and destroys
criminal vessels, related equipment
and support facilities.

As for these enemies of the human race, “Effective delivery of consequences must follow interdiction
activities,” the Action Plan says.
“Somali-based piracy is flourishing
because it is currently highly profitable and nearly consequence-free.”

To read the entire Action Plan,
visit www.navyleague.org.

SEAPOWER

THE OFFICIAL PUBLICATION OF THE
NAVY LEAGUE OF THE UNITED STATES
Volume 52, Number 3, March 2009